Metro News Release

For immediate release: April 6, 2010

Ridership up on limited-stop Metrobus routes

Improvements are providing more reliable service

Ridership is up on three of Metro’s most popular priority bus corridors after investments in Metrobus service with the addition of limited-stop bus routes have made the service more reliable for riders.

Bus service along Georgia Avenue, 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in the District of Columbia has seen a steady increase in riders ever since Metro implemented limited-stop service on some of the city’s most heavily traveled corridors.

Metrobus service along Georgia Avenue has seen a 9 percent increase in average weekday riders, from 17,281 to 18,851 since MetroExtra Route 79 began operating in March 2007. Sixteenth Street has seen about an 8 percent increase in riders, from 15,990 to 17,214 since Route S9 began operating in March 2009. And service on Pennsylvania Avenue provided by Routes 37 and 39 has seen about a 3 percent increase in riders, from 20,671 to 21,241 since June 2008.

“Limited-stop Metrobus service has improved travel times, reduced crowding and given bus riders additional travel options to better meet their needs,” said Jack Requa, Assistant General Manager of Bus Services. “We are eager to expand this type of reliable service on more routes throughout the entire Metrobus service area.”

Metro currently operates 165 bus lines with an average weekday ridership of about 426,000. The transit agency has nine limited-stop bus routes, which operate along Georgia Avenue (Route 79), 16th Street (Route S9), Wisconsin Avenue (Route 37) and Pennsylvania Avenue (Route 39) in the District of Columbia; Route J4, which operates between Bethesda and College Park, Md.; Route NH1 to National Harbor in Prince George’s County; REX, which runs along Richmond Highway in Fairfax County; Pike Ride (Route 16F) on Columbia Pike in Arlington; and Leesburg Pike (Route 28X) in Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax County.

Metro officials aim to have a total of 24 limited-stop bus routes in service by 2015, which would benefit half of all bus riders in the Metrobus system. Next on the list for limited-stop service is the new Route X9 on the H Street – Benning Road Line, which planners are looking to implement in September 2010.

In addition, Metro planners hope that buses eventually will receive priority signals, which means extending green light signals for a few extra seconds to allow buses to stay on schedule; lanes that would put them in front of other traffic; and dedicated bus lanes, which would make limited-stop service even faster and more reliable.

News release issued at 3:55 pm, April 6, 2010.